By Paul Garrod
Staff Writer
news4garrod@gmail.com
Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott reported that a series of scams are still being at-tempted and occurring in Van Buren County. On Friday, Jan. 10, a victim was contacted at approx-imately 1:48 p.m. by an individual alleging to be a lawyer, advising that a family member was cur-rently lodged in jail and needed $15,000 to bond the subject out of jail. Sheriff Abbott said, “The suspects in these cases usually use the most heinous crimes to incite fear and shock in the un-suspecting victim. In this incident it was a traffic crash in which a child was killed. These claims were all false,”
He continued, “In this particular case, a LYFT courier was sent to the victim’s address to collect the funds. The suspect advised the victim to wrap the money in newspaper and place it in a cardboard box. The money was then turned over to an unknown subject who took it to allegedly bond out the family member.”
A short time later, the suspect recontacted the victim and tried to extort more funds from them, accoirding to Sheriff Abbott.
Sheriff Abbott said, “The Sheriff’s Office will never request bond payment ever be paid in this manner. If anyone calls requesting bond payment to stay vigilant and contact the Sheriff’s Office to check for validity. We will never send a courier service to collect the funds or request any sort of payment in the form of a gift card. If anyone attempts to collect bond from you stay vigilant and make sure the claims are legit before handing over any money.”
Sheriff Abbott encouraged the public to reach out to the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office if they have additional questions. “This case remains open, and the Road Patrol Division is work-ing alongside our Criminal Investigation Division to locate the suspect(s) involved.”
